Power Athlete Posture: Breathing, Bracing, and Bar Path (Juggernaut style)

90 90 wall breathing

• Feet on wall, knees and hips bent, ribs down.
• Inhale through the nose and fill low, side, and back.
• Exhale slowly and keep the ribs stacked over the pelvis.
• Do 3 to 5 slow breaths before your warm up sets.

The diaphragm contributes to intra abdominal pressure during postural tasks, supporting a stability role alongside breathing function.⁴⁵

Stack first

If the ribs flare up, you can inhale but you cannot brace well. Stack the rib cage over the pelvis before you build pressure.

Increased intra abdominal pressure can increase lumbar stiffness in humans, supporting the idea that pressure and position both matter.⁵

The 3 step brace

1. Inhale 360 and keep ribs stacked over pelvis.
2. Lock the shape by tightening the trunk like you are bracing for contact.
3. Move with that shape and exhale after the hardest portion of the rep.

Models and experimental work support a stabilising effect of intra abdominal pressure on the lumbar spine.¹²

Use a belt as feedback

A belt does not brace for you. It gives your trunk something to press into. That pressure can increase intra abdominal pressure during lifting and may improve lumbar stability.⁷⁸

• Set belt so you can expand into it, not so tight you cannot inhale.
• Brace into the belt evenly, front, sides, back.
• Keep belt work for heavy compounds and peak phases.

Breathing and blood pressure

Valsalva can acutely raise blood pressure. Lifters with cardiovascular disease, uncontrolled hypertension, or certain eye conditions should use caution and seek clinical advice.⁹¹⁰

Stack the bar over the midfoot

• Keep the bar and torso system balanced. If the bar drifts forward, your hips shoot, and your back works overtime.
• Choose bar position that you can control through the sticking region.
• Use a controlled descent and keep the same torso angle until you pass the hardest point.

Squat kinematics and demands change with bar placement and technique parameters, which supports picking the variation you can execute cleanly.¹¹¹²

Keep the bar close

• Start with the bar over midfoot, then pull it back into you.
• Lat tension keeps the bar close and reduces swing.
• A closer bar reduces moment arms and tends to improve efficiency.

Deadlift analyses show technique and skill differences, including keeping the bar closer to the body in higher skilled lifters.¹³¹⁴

Let the path match your leverages

• Touch point should support stacked wrists and vertical forearms.
• As loads rise and fatigue builds, bar kinematics change. Your setup must be more consistent, not less.
• Use upper back tightness to control the descent and keep the press groove stable.

Bench press studies report changes in kinematics with load and fatigue, supporting the idea that technique must be trained, not assumed.¹⁵¹⁶

Breathing and brace screen

Check rib flare, pelvic control, and whether you can create 360 expansion without losing stack.

Stack and foot pressure

Ribs over pelvis, neutral head and neck, and a stable foot tripod before you touch the bar.

Progress with constraints

Use tempo, pauses, and variations as constraints so you do not earn load with sloppy reps.

Recovery inputs

Sleep consistency and a simple protein target. No extreme rules.

Weekly checks

Track bar speed, symptom trend, and technique drift. Adjust volume before pain forces you to.

Small position wins

One cue per block. One technique metric per lift. Repeat until it is automatic.